Lever switch



Sept. 23,. 1952 D. P. MOSSMAN, SR

LEVER SWITCH Filed June 6, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Slept. 23, 1952 D. P.MossMAN, SRv 2,611,835

LEVER SWITQH Filed June 6, 1947 2 SHEETS-smal 2 Patented Sept. 23, 1952OFFICE LEVER SWITCH Donald P. Mossma'n, sr., chicago, 111. ApplicationJune 6, 1947, .Serial No. 752,936

The present invention relates to lever switches. It is particularlyconcerned with a switch wherein a plurality of groups of springs arearranged to be operated by a rocking lever to make and break contactbetween the contact points on the springs. Switches of this characterare vusually provided with a main frame and oppositely disposed groups`or pile-ups of contact springs, certain of which springs extend beyondthe others and are adapted to be engaged by rollers or cams that aremounted on a pivoted lever. It is customary also to associate with thelever a spring pressed detent which engages a notched cammng surfacethat is part of the lever. The detent is adapted to hold the leveryieldingly against movement in a neutral position `and one or moreoperating positions when the lever is turned in either direction fromneutral position.

In many instances i-t is desirable to have the lever operable to makeorbreak certain of the spring contacts without passing the spring detentover one of the holding notches of the camming plate. Such a position isusually termed a nonlock position, and is reached with a relativelysmall motion of the lever. It is dillicult Ito obtain proper movement ofthe spring contacts with such a small throw of the lever and still havethe requisite movement of the spring contact for locking position thatis arrived at by a much larger angular movement of the lever.

It is a purpose of my invention toprovide in a switch of Ithischaracter, a novel combination of par-ts whereby the desirable fullmovement of the movable contact spring is obtained over a'wide range ofmovement of the lever so that, for examlple, a small movement of 4thelever from neutral position in one `direction will give full movement ofthe contact springs actuated while much greater movement of the levermay be used to move other contact springs or the same springs withoutexcessive bending of the springs and without the necessity of any changein the lever, and general switch construction.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide certain improvements ina switch of this character whereby the vibration of the contact springsis overcome so as to enable the switch to withstand very severe shockswithout the contacts being made or broken due to the shock.

It is a further purpose of my invention to` provide in a switch of lthischaracter, a frame construction which readily adapts itself to theapplication of screw terminals for wiring the several pile-ups of switchcontacts.

It is another purpose of my invention to provide in a switch of thischaracter, an improved mounting for the spring pile-ups whereby theparts are more rigidly secured together and the construction issimplified from the assembly standpoint.

3 Claims. (Cl. 200-1) The natureand advantages of the invention willappear more fully from the following 1description and accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. It shouldbe understood, however, that the drawings and description areillustrative only, and should not :be taken as limiting the inventionexcept insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through aswitch embodyingv my invention;

Figure 2 is a sectoriali view taken substantially on the line 2-2 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary end view looking at the switch fromthe right hand end of Figure 1, certain parts being broken away to bet-V-ter illustrate the construction;

. Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view through the mounting plates forthe spring contacts, the view being taken substantially on the line 4-4of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an exploded View illustrating .the mounting plates inperspective and separated from each other Fgure 6. is an enlargedfragmentary view illustrating a changed position of the lever; and

Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing the modifiedconstruction for obtaining 'adeouate movement of the contact springswith a small throw or the operating lever.

Referring now to the drawings in Figure 1, I have illustrated a switchembodying my invention wherein a main frame I0 has a U-shaped levermounting portion similar to that shown vin my prior application, SerialNumber 590,909, now Patent No. 2,497,414 dated February 14, 1950. Thislever mounting portion includes an apertured back plate I I and twosides one of which is shown at I3. These sides have reduced portions Izaand I3a which extend parallel to each other and serve to mount a springcontact lassembly I4 which is in the form of a plurali-ty of groups I5,I6, I'I and I8, of contact springs, and associated insulators or spacers29, and vibration dampening springs 2 I. The operating parts of thepileup assembly comprise stationary `Contact springs 22 and movablecontact springs 23 and 23 both yof which carry contact points indicatedgenerally by the numeral 24 on the stationary springs land by thenumeral 2.5 on the movable springs.

In connection with each of the springs 23 and 23', wiring terminalplates 26 are "provided, these terminal plates being laid in engagementwith the springs. Each terminal plate has a portion 21 extending endWise beyond the :pile-up, and provided with a screw 28 for fastening alead thereto. Each of the stationary springs 22 has a terminal wiringpla'te 29 engaged therewith. The terminal wiring plates 29 extendlaterally from the pile-ups and have wiring terminal porlength of theattached screw carrying portion of j the terminal plate itself.

The actuation of the spring members 23 andW 23' is by means of a camlever 32 which is pivoted between the side portions of the frame I3 bymeans of a shaft 33 and suitable'spacing sleeves 34. This'lever 32extends through the slot l l in the base of the frame IG, and has areduced neck portion 35 provided with an extension 35 on which a handle3'1 is mounted. The neck portion 35 is of substantial thickness in theplane of movementof the lever 32, so as to form a shoulder against whichthe handle 31 engages and to give adequate strength to the lever at thiscritical point. The lever itself is in the nature of a platesubstantially circular throughout most of its circumference except forthe neck 35, and notches 33', 39 and 40, and projections 4| and 42.These notches and projections are adapted to engage Y a spring pressedroller 43 which is mounted in the bifurcated end 44 of a rod 45. Thebifurcated end 44 of the rod 45 overlaps the lever 32 on both sidesthereof so as to guide the roller with respect to the notches andprojections just described. Mounted on the lever plate 35 are also'suchstop pins 35a and 35h as are necessary to effect a position of lockingor non-locking when these pins impinge against the frame ID on either orboth sides of slot Il. rlhe pin 35h effecting the nonlock stoppingaction has a large head on it so as to limit the throw of the lever to apoint when the latching roller 43 does not ride over the tip ofprojection 42, thus allowing the lever to reverse itself automaticallyand return to the neutral or center position.

The rod 45 is slidably mounted in twov cross frame members 45 and 41which extend between the side frame portionsr [2a and |3a. The rod ishollow to receive a spring 48 which is backed up by an adjustable stoppin 49. The stop pin 49 is adjusted by means of a screw 50 which threadsinto the stop pin and which is mounted for rotation in a cross bar l atthe rear ends of the frame members l2a and l3a. As usual in devices ofthis character a lock nut 52 is provided on the screw 59. Thus thetension on the roller 43 pressing it into the notches of the lever 32can be varied to provide the desired resistance to movement of the leveritself.

An important feature of my invention is embodied in the engagementbetween the spring Contact engaging rollers v53 and 54 that are mountedon the lever 32, and the movable contact springs 23 and 23. t will benoted that the lower spring 23 in Figure l has its forward end benttoward the roller 53 at 55, and then outwardly again at 5t,A while theupper spring 23 has its forward end 5'! bent 'outwardly at the sameangle as the portion 55. In normal use of the switch illustrated, theupper spring 23' is adapted to be used in so-called lock. position only.In other words, if the lever 32 is rotated in a counterclockwisedirection it will move the upper spring 23 outwardly to engage itscontact with the contacts 24 on the associated spring 22 above it withthe roller 43 resting on the notch 39. This so-called lock position willthen be maintained so that it is necessary to exert substantial pressureon the handle 31 to return the lever to neutral position. It is oftendesirable to have a hold or non-lock position where the operator of theswitch must hold the lever while contact is made, and the lever willreturn to neutral position immediately upon release of the handle 37.Heretofore it has been difficult to ob tainthe proper amount of movementof the spring 23` without modifying the switch constructionsubstantially. In order to give the proper throw to the lower spring 23for a hold or non lock position this spring is provided with the benttip as illustrated bythe portions 55 and 56. Now when the 'lever isinitially moved, the portion 55 engages the roller r53'and'causes thespring 23 to move outwardly quite rapidly in the initial movement of thelever thus making contact with the lower spring 22 before the detentroller 43 moves over the upper projection 42 as the lever is rotated inthe clockwise direction. This is the socalled hold position when thestationary spring 22 and the actuating spring 23 offer resistance to andthe stop h prevents further movement of the lever to a lock position. Assoon as the operator releases the handle 3l this spring force returnsthe lever to neutralposition breaking the contacts between the lowerspring 23 and the lower stationary spring 22. Thus'it is possible toadapt the switch to one having a non lock position when the lever ismoved in one direction, and a locked position when the lever is moved inthe other direction merely by the utilization of a contact spring 23 onthe non-lock side which has the bent ends and 56. This makes itunnecessary to change in any way the general mechanism of the switch foradapting it to different installations requiring in some cases a lockand a non-lock position, and in other cases two locked positions, or twonon-locked positions.

Referring now to Figures 3, 4, and 5, the frame construction formounting the pile-ups is shown more in detail. The side frame membersI2a and 13a. and the cross bars 41'and 5| serve to secure two duplicatemounting plates 6U and 6I. These mounting plates are generallyrectangular in form, but are provided with offset fingers 62, 53, 54 and65. The fingers are the same on both plates B0 and 6l and are offsetinwardly toward the opposite plate. In Figures 3 and 4, this offset issufcient so that the ngers come together' and enter aperture B6 providedin the cross bar 47 and aperture 6'! provided in the cross bar 5l. Thefingers as shown in Figure 4 are not exactly parallel so that their tipsengage and they wedge in the openings 66 and 61. The plates are tightlysecured by suitable screws 63 and 69 which pass through the bar 5l andare threaded into the cross bar 47. In Figure 5 the construction isslightly modified in that two apertures 'l0 and '1| are provided in thecrossl bars for each pair of fingers such as 62 and 63. Otherwise theconstruction is just the same as in Figures 3 and 4, but the offset ofthe ngers is reduced accordingly to align them with the apertures 'l0and 1|. The plates 69 and 5| are suitably apertured to receive mountingscrews 'l2 and 13 for the pile-ups.

This construction makes it possible to use the same mounting screws formounting both'groups such as I5 and I'! of the contact spring assemblyor pile-ups on the opposite sides of the frame. This insures accuratealignment of the pile-ups and proper spacing thereof with respect to thelever 32, and because of the fact that the screws such as 12 and 13extend all the way through the pile-ups on opposite sides of the framethe switch is quite rigid and therefore capable of withstanding rougherusage than is the case where individual pile-up mounting is employed. Italso provides a means of making separate pileups such as l5 and I6 inthe upper position and I1 and I8 in the lower position, each pairmounted separately on an individual plate 60 and 6l respectively whenthat plate has tapped holes as at 60a and Bla. This method is desirableand much more economical for mounting pile-ups than when the mountingscrews go through the plates, and when it is not necessary to providethe additional support of screws which go through the plates as isrequired in some cases of unusually large pile-ups.

In certain usages of heavy duty switches such as this, the switch issubjected to rather severe shocks, and such shocks tend to causevibration of the free ends of the stationary springs 22 so as to causethem sometimes to make or break momentary contact with the movablesprings. According to my invention, I provide each of the stationarysprings 22 with back up springs 2l on both sides. The back up springsare bent from the ends of the spacers toward the stationary contactsprings to engage them at a distance about two-thirds of the way fromthe spacers to the ends of the springs. The inner back up spring 2l thusopposes vibration toward the movable contact while the outer back upspring dampens the vibration in the opposite direction. These back upsprings are somewhat lighter than the stationary contact springs so asto avoid the possibility of setting up resonant vibration between thesp-rings.

The construction shown in Figure 'T of the drawings illustrates aslightly modified manner of accomplishing the same results as isobtained by the portions 55 and 55 of the lower movable spring 23. Inthis construction the roller 53 is replaced with a cam type of springengaging member 53a which is so constructed asto effect a much greaterthrow of a Contact spring 23a, than would be effected by a roller 53.The contact spring 23a, has its tip portion 14 bent over the corner ofthe member 53a to cause it to rock when the lever is turned. It isbelieved that this operation is suiciently clear from the drawings thatit need not be further described. The form shown in Figure 1 is muchpreferable both from an operational and a manufacturing standpoint sinceit combines all of the changes necessary to get non-lock operation to asingle spring.

From the foregoing it is believed that the nature and advantages of myinvention will be clear to those skilled in this art.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A switch of the character described comprising a supporting frame, aplurality of contact carrying springs mounted thereon in spacedrelation, an operating member pivoted in said frame for movementtransversely of said springs, and having a handle, at least one of saidsprings having its free end extended beyond other springs alongside thepath of movement of said operating member, a spring engaging memberpivoted on said operating member, and said extended spring having aportion thereof in the path of movement of said spring engaging memberbent to extend toward the pivotal axis of said operating member andpositioned to hook partially over the spring engaging member and causegreater movement of the spring end as the operating member moves thespring engaging member toward the spring than the movement of the springengaging member, and back up springs mounted on opposite sides of thenon-extended springs, said back up springs being spaced from thenonextended springs at their mounting points and having their free endsin engagement with the non-extended springs at a distance from theirmounting.

2. A switch of the character described, comprising a substantiallyU-shaped supporting frame, the base of said frame being widened andslotted to receive an operating lever, an operating lever extendingthrough the slotted base, pivot means for the lever in said frameadjacent to the base, spring pile up actuating rollers on opposite sidesof said lever, and spring pile up mounting means supported on the legsof said frame, said mounting means comprising spaced cross barsconnecting the legs, pairs of mounting plates between the cross bars andlegs, interlocking lugs and sockets on the plates and cross bars, meansto draw the cross bars toward each other to clamp the lugs in thesockets, and a pair of spring pile ups mounted on each plate.

3. A switch of the character described, comprising a substantiallyU-shaped supporting frame, the base of said frame being widened andslotted-to receive an operating lever, an operatingv lever extendingthrough the slotted base,

pivot means for the lever in said frame adjacent to the base, springpile up actuating rollers on opposite sides of said lever, and springpile up mounting means supported on the legs of said frame, saidmounting means comprising spaced cross bars connecting the legs, pairsof mounting plates between the cross bars and legs, interlocking lugsand sockets on the plates and cross bars, means to draw the cross barstoward each other to clamp the lugs in the sockets, and a pair of springpile ups mounted on each plate, said spring pile ups including wiringterminal plates having ears turned up at right angles to the plates andprovided with terminal screws, the ears on certain terminal plates beingat the sides of the pile ups and the ears on other terminal plates beingat the ends of the pile ups.

DONALD P. MOSSMAN, SR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,951,530 Richter Mar. 20, 19341,958,646 Snavely May 15, 1934 2,013,513 Dressel Sept. 3, 1935 2,184,780Little 4---- Dec. 26, 1939 2,258,122 Merkel Oct. 7, 1941 2,400,952 RiebeMay 28, 1946 2,411,576 Kelleigh Nov. 26, 1946 2,497,414 Mossman Feb. 14,1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 357,634 Great Britain Sept. 28,1931 '711,519 France Feb. 19, 1931

